Would it be news to you if I said that the world we’ve designed had been done so primarily for people without disabilities? It may not be immediately apparent but think about something as commonplace as the smartphone – a device that delivers its primary value through the visual medium.

Here are 3 tips to instantly make your social media more accessible for your supporters and those you support!

Tip #1 - #CamelCase Your #Hashtags

This tip is the #1 tip for inclusivity when it comes to your social media. Why? It’s beneficial for all users, not just those with vision impairment or dyslexia. Look at these hashtags - which is easier to read?

The second one, right? That’s because the capital letters break up the word, which helps people with and without dyslexia. In addition, it allows smartphones’ VoiceOver to pronounce the hashtag correctly.

Tip #2 – Use Alt-Text for Images & Videos

VoiceOver is excellent for reading out what’s on the social feed, but it can’t describe what’s in a picture. Alt-Text is our hero here. When posting on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn, you can provide a hidden description of the content. When VoiceOver reaches your content, it will read the description provided, allowing people with vision impairment to experience it! Check out the video in the next tip to see it in action!

Note – try to be much more descriptive than my video when providing Alt-Text.

Tip #3 – Provide Captions for Videos

Like Alt-Text allows people with vision impairment to experience content, Captioning will enable people with auditory impairment to experience videos. As a bonus, people who can’t listen to your video can still consume it without the audio! Captioning can be a manual process or AI-driven. Check out this AI-driven example (also showing Tip #2 in action):

Bonus Tip

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Jovin Sveinbjornsson #10067927 #ECUIndustryReadyProject #ECUMKT5325 #InclusiveMarketing #InclusiveSocialMedia #DiversityAndInclusion

(Disclaimer: This content is for the sole purpose of teaching and learning at Edith Cowan University).